Johnson: Scout's Eagle project is for an eagle

We should start with Spirit, a magnificent bald eagle who seems convinced he can still fly.

He cannot, which is why since 2009 he has lived at the Santa Ana Zoo, saved by a rescue organization that found him badly injured – one wing simply will not work – in the wilds of Alaska.

"He tries to fly, I will give him that," zoo Director Kent Yamaguchi said the other day. "He will climb as high as possible, and sometimes gets loft. But I must tell you, his landings are not that pretty."

He is different from other bald eagles who have lived at the zoo, Yamaguchi said, in that they knew for certain their flying days were over.

Just to make certain, in case Spirit one day got lucky, workers draped rope netting over the exhibit. When funds allow, Yamaguchi said, the zoo will do a better, cleaner, more aesthetically appropriate covering for Spirit.

Which brings us to Seth Watkins. He is 14 years old and an eighth grader at Santiago Middle School in Orange. He is also a Boy Scout in Troop 842, and is but one project away from making Eagle Scout, something most scouts do not achieve until close to their 18th birthday. It tells you something about this kid.

"I just love animals," he says to explain how his journey began. "I originally went to the Orange County Zoo looking for something, but they had nothing for me. So I went to the Santa Ana Zoo, and all they had was rebuilding the back of a stage or something, nothing with animals."

He thanked them, and was walking out with his dad, Peter, when he stopped.

"Uh, you wouldn't by chance have any eagle projects?" he asked, totally taking an intentionally ironic shot.

Well, there is this one thing, they told him.

So rather than sitting around watching television, playing video games, strolling a mall or doing what a lot of 14-years-old do, Seth Watkins is on a mission to raise $9,000 to rebuild Spirit, the bald eagle's, exhibit at the Santa Ana Zoo.

As of Friday, he had already raised $2,060, and he has plans to speak before Rotary Clubs and to e-mail everyone he knows to raise the rest.

Also, he has launched The Spirit Project website at www.youcaring.com/other/The-Spirit-Project/4265, and has identified and worked with a stainless steel manufacturer in Arizona that would fabricate the mesh. He also found, through his church, a landscaping company that will donate new drains and plantings for the exhibit.

"This is going to be really cool," Watkins said in an interview at his home. "I wanted to do something really interesting with this."

Yamaguchi, the zoo director, said the zoo has a long history of would-be Eagle Scouts finding a project to earn their badges, but none who have gone to lengths like Seth Watkins.

He estimates there have been 15 scout projects at the zoo in his 25 years there, one of the earliest being a scout who built a service table in the special events area. The former scout, he noted, recently got married there.

"Last year, we had four different Eagle Scout projects. They are great for us, and do things we might not have funding to do," he said. "Most of the projects cost $1,000, maybe $2,000. No one has attempted what Seth is doing. He is an amazing young man. His idea of what's possible is well beyond what others would think."

And yes, many other scouts have passed on the Spirit exhibit.

"No one ever wants to take on replacing the mesh," he said. "I mean, you just don't do it. Not Seth."

He has been in scouting since age 8. "And I love it," he says. "I've seen a lot of kids get to 18, the oldest you can be to become an Eagle Scout, and do last-minute things like painting benches. Not me. I want to do something really noteworthy."

His mother, Dana, says her son's ambition does not at all surprise her.

"He's a high-achieving kid," she said, "always reaching for the stars. But I'll tell you, when I found out what he wants to do will cost 9,000 bucks, I kind of almost swallowed my tongue."

Seth Watkins says he brushed aside Yamaguchi's telling him he would never ask a volunteer or a group to re-do the eagle exhibit, that doing so would be much too expensive.

He swallowed hard, though, when he learned the 400-square-feet of stainless steel mesh he needs, alone, would cost between $5,000 and $6,000.

"And then there was a lot more I hadn't put into the equation, like scaffolding," he said. "I originally thought all of it might cost, at most, $3,000. I look back on that figure now, and say, 'Wow!' It's pocket change in comparison."

He forged ahead. He wants to replace the rope mesh. Though he cannot fly, Spirit can jump, and he is afraid the eagle might one day jump into the rope and get stuck.

"That would be just a mess," he says.

To earn the badge, he will have to do and supervise most of the work.

"I might have to fly someone in to teach me," he says.

His goal is to complete work on the exhibit by mid-summer.

"It's going to mean a lot to people," Seth said. "Yes, it's going to be a tough road and, certainly, already it has not been easy. But it'll mean something to the zoo. It will affect people for years."